Process for storing and curing ensilage



W. H. CUSHING.

PROCESS FOR STORING AND CURING ENSILAGE.

I APPLICATION FILED DEC. 18, 1918- 1,390,341. Patented Sept. 13, 1921,

INVENTORU ULw/z a g WW NEY and the like,

silo in which, corn, hay, grass and other UNITED gSTAT-ESQ PATENT o FIcWILLIAM H. CUSHING, or TOIBEKA, KA s'As, ASSIGNOR or ONE-THIRD TO someH.

MERCER AND ONE-SIXTH mp PAUL J.

' MCBRIDE,

BOTH'OF' TOIEKA, KANSAS.

raocnss ron sroame AND ename ENSItAGE.

Application filed December 1a, 1918. Serial K012373368;

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, VVILLIAM H. CUSHING, a citizen of; the UnitedStates, residing at Topeka, in the countyof Shawnee and State of Kansas,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes forStoring and Curing Ensilage, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to a method of'and apparatus for storing andcuring ensilage and its object is to produce a ensilage which milstferment, may be placed and any -excess of moisture removed, and also asilo in which may :be placed alfalfa and other ensilage in whichfermentation must not take place, and which to be cured and kept in goodcondition must be thoroughly dried and all moisture removed.

'ensila-ge or to Another object is to produceapparatus.

for carrying this processinto effect which can be manufactured andinstalled at comparatively small expense and which will not or keep inrepair.

W1th the objects named in view and others hereinafter pointed out,'theinvention conj require the services of an expertto operate sists incertain novel and useful combinations of partsas hereinafter describedand claimed; and in order that it may be fully understood reference isto be had to the ac-.. companyingdrawing, in which: i

\ Figure 1, is aside view, partly in central vertical section, of anapparatus embodying Fig. 2, is a horizontal'section taken on the lineII-II of Fig. 1.

In the said drawing, where like reference characters identifycorresponding parts, 1

indicates a silo, 2 a manhole in the top for the filling of the silo,and 3 a removable air tiglht cap for the manhole.

he silo is preferably built of steel plates formed in circular sectlonsset one on top of the other and bolted together with an air tightrelation, eachsection having the customary door 4 which 'fits in itsframe with an air tight joint, and 5 is the customary ladder on the sideof the 'siloso that the doors may be opened for the removalof the permitaccess to the filling cap 3 in the top 0 the silo.

The lower section of the silo will preferably be set in a concrete base6 with an air tight relation. Embedded in the center of .ticalperforated pipe 7, diatingperforated arms perforated central be heatedwhen desired by 1 Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Sept. 13,1921;

Near the bottom of the central vertical exterior of the silo and havingits end closed by a hand valve 10. Between the silo and pipe? isconnected a pipe 9, leading to the the valve 10-is a branch pipell,provided with a hand valve12'. v

A hose 13 is connected to the'valve 10 andleads toa suction pump 14, bywhich the air in the silo may be exhausted through the radial armsi8into the the exhaust port 15 of the pump, when the doors and th filling'manhole are shut,, and

the valve, 11 is closed.

' Connected to the valve'll is a hose 16 leading to a heating coil 17,the other endof the 0011 being connected to ahose 18 leading to acompressed air tank 19.. The coil 17 may a. gas burner 20 or in any.other suitable manner.

70. pipe 7 and its perforated atmosphere through When the air in thetank has-been ex-.

hausted by" the suction pump as described, and the valve 10 is closed,the valve 12 may be opened and the compressed air in the tank'. willrush into the silo. When desired, to

hasten the drying of the contents of the silo,

this dry compressed air passes through the coil 17, although .underordinary conditions it is believed that the may be heated as it drycompressedairalone will secure the desired results. a

In case the c ontents of the silo, when first placed therein contain agreat amount of moisture, I prefer to have the concrete base sloped sothat any water settling to the bot- 'tomof the tank will flow outthrough the drain pipe. 21 provided with a hand valve 22, although-thevalve 22' will normally bev .closed to prevent the entrance of air intothe silo except by the meansprovided and described above.

The pipe 21% and valve 22 will be under- 7 ground if the silo,is erectedupon'theiground,

as customary, the pipe 21 leading to a drain. ditch, not shown.

- Th advantages of a silo of thischaract'er I lie in the fact that withensilage which must be allowed to ferment before use, it'may be placedin the silo even when in an extremely such moist condition, and thisexcess of moisture may be drawn ofi" by exhausting the air by means ofthe suction pump through the central perforated pipe and its radiatingarms. After the airhas been partially exhausted, a partial vacuum beingformed, compressed air 'is allowed to rush into the tank. Compressed airis, at least theoretically, dry air, and upon its entrance into the silowill tend to absorb a certain percentage of the mois ture remaining inthe ensilage, and to aid in this process the compressed'air may beheated before:itsadmittance'into the silo, and before it passes upthrough the central pipe and its radiating arms and'out through theperforations of the same. With ensilage of character that fermentationmust take place before it moving the moisture from the contents of the fsilo must be stopped before fermentation begins as it would bedetrimental to thecontents of the silo to remove the gases which arevgiven off during fermentation.

With alfalfa and other ensilage which must not be allowed to ferment,and which have heretofore been dried in the field before being placed inthe silo, my process presents a very efficient and highly desirablemethod of artificially curing the alfalfa after it has been placed inthe silo.- When a silo of this character is filled with alfalfa, the

process of exhausting the silo and then alowing compressed air, orheated compressed air, from time to time, as in this case the process offermentation must beprohibite'd and the process of exhausting themoistureand permitting. the entrance of compressed air, will becontinued as long as there is moisture present inthe silo. 1

It will also be apparent that this process for use with fruits,vegetables, etc, which may be placed iii-storage and from'whosecontainer it may be desirable to withdraw the moisture, may be used to agreat advantage,

is used, this process of reto enter the same, will be carried out I byexhausting the air which will withdraw a percentage of moisture, andthen permitting the entrance of compressed air, which being practicallydry, will soon dry the contentsof the container, this process beingrepeated from time to time as moisture forms within the container. v vFrom the 'above description it will be apparent that I have produced aprocess of and apparatus for carrying out the ob ects enumerated, whichwhile I have illustrated and described what now appears to be thepreferred form, I wish it to be understood the right to make all changesof the that I reserve falling within the spirit and scope appendedclaims.

lf claim:

1. The process of curing fresh vegetable matter, consisting in placingsuch matter in a substantially air-tight chamber and in dischargingcompressed air ihto the chamber and in effecting the removal from thechamber of liquid produced by the drying of the vegetable matter by theaction of the compressed air thereon.

2. The process of curing fresh vegetable matter, consisting inplacingsuch matter in a substantially air-tight chamber; in discharging heatedcompressed air into said chamber; and in efiecting the removal from 1the chamber of liquid produced by the dry ing of the vegetable'matter bythe action of the compressed air thereon.

3. The process of curing fresh vegetable :matter, consisting in lacingsuch matter in a substantially air-tig t chamber; in evacuating the airfrom said chamber; in discharging compressed air into the chamber; andin eflecting the removal from'the chamber of liquid produced therein bythe drying of the vegetable matter by the action of the.

compressed air thereon.

wrntmnn. cnsrmre.

